Mʔ
mʔ, often referred to as the Scythe, was an ancient weapon designed for the Slayer, with a wooden stake on the handle. Its name was "mʔ", "ʔ" being the symbol for a glottal stop. It embodied the mystical essence of the Slayer. Slayers who wielded it were capable of sensing its innate power and felt an initial sense of ownership. History Origins The Scythe was forged in secrecy by a group of women—the Guardians—for the Slayer to kill the last Old Ones that walked the earth. It was kept hidden from the Shadow Men, who watched the Slayers and would later became the Watchers Council. The Guardians became watchers of sorts to the Watchers, and sought to help and protect the Slayers. These women put the Scythe in a rock, for when the time came and it was needed again, the Slayer would find and use it."End of Days" 21st Century In 2003, the Scooby Gang were researching ways to defeat the First Evil, and Spike found an inscription carved in stone, in a secret room in an abandoned mission in Gilroy, which translated to "It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield." Buffy Summers found the Scythe in a Sunnydale vineyard and pulled it out of the rock."Touched" With this weapon in her hands, Buffy managed to kill Caleb—who had merged with the First Evil and was extremely powerful. Later, Willow Rosenberg, using the power of the Scythe, performed a spell that activated all Potential Slayers around the world, making them full-fledged Slayers. Buffy and the Slayers then shared the Scythe among them to defeat the numerous Turok-Han in the depths of the Hellmouth."Chosen" Several months later, Buffy was still in possession of the Scythe, and used it to rescue her friend Willow from the U.S. military, injuring many soldiers in the process."The Long Way Home, Part Four" It was then stolen by the vampire, Toru,"Wolves at the Gate, Part One" who wanted to reverse the spell Willow did to activate the potential Slayers of the world. After Buffy recovered the Scythe, it crossed its own timeline as Buffy was summoned to the future of Haddyn."Time of Your Life, Part One" In the battle of Sunnydale, Buffy, reeling from the death of Rupert Giles, used the scythe to break the Seed of Wonder, the heart of magic, which in turn, broke the scythe."Last Gleaming, Part Five" After moving to San Francisco, Buffy kept the ruined Scythe in a chest. However, the Scythe was soon taken by Willow, who believed it to be the key to restoring magic; using the residual magic in the Scythe as a "battery", she carved various sigils on Connor with the Scythe, performing a ritual that allowed her to access Quor'toth."Family Reunion, Part One" After succeeding in restoring her magic within Quor'toth, due to Giles holding the Scythe during his death, Willow allowed Angel to absorb the fragments of Giles' soul that still latched onto it so that he could continue his quest to resurrect him via a Tooth of Ammuk."Family Reunion, Part Four" Later in Willow's journey, the Scythe was restored by the witch Vulcana (an associate of Aluwyn) who referred to it as a counterpart of Excalibur. With the Scythe now at full power, Willow could easily cut rifts between any two worlds with magic. "Wonderland, Part Three" When Willow returned to Earth, she returned the Scythe to Buffy. During her battle with the newly-vampiric Simone Doffler, Simone easily outmatched Buffy and impaled her through the shoulder with the Scythe"The Core, Part Four. Despite her wounds and Simone's superior abilities, Buffy eventually gained the upper hand and used the Scythe to stake Simone, openly admitting her regret that she ever used the Scythe to make Simone a Slayer in the first place"The Core, Part Five". 23rd Century Sometime in the 23rd century, the Scythe was given to Melaka Fray, the Slayer of that time, by her ally, the demon Urkonn. Melaka used it to defeat dozens of vampires led by her vampire brother Harth Fray, as well as the Old One Neauth, saving the world. Some time later, during her battle with Fray, a time-displaced Buffy smashed the Scythe clean in half with a backhanded punch."Time of Your Life, Part Four" Appearance and qualities Despite its name, the Scythe actually resembled a lochaber axe with a red, steel head and a sliver edge on the border of the blade, a steel shaft holding the head with nails stamped along it and reaching down was a brown haft that had a simple wooden stake below it connected via an assembly of metal spikes. Its stake seemed apparently sharper and stronger than basic wood as it could be jammed against a stone wall without any visible damage to it afterwards.Buffy could easily stake several Turok-Han vampires despite their harder sternums. Buffy also used the Scythe's blade to shield herself from D'Hoffryn's energy blasts.Own It, Part Four Willow displayed the capacity of the Scythe to be used in magic. The weapon itself is like a "battery" that contained magic even if the Earth itself didn't have any magic left. This fact allowed Willow to use the Scythe's power to tear open a rift in reality to gain access to Quor'toth. She used the power of the Scythe to activate every single Potential Slayer on Earth. The Scythe could also be used to tear open portals to other dimensions and could even be used as a means to cast very powerful spells, such as immense streams of magic power that can match the strength of an Old One. Wielders The following Slayers have wielded the Scythe: *Sineya (she was the first Slayer to wield the scythe- to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth in Sunnydale before it was officially named.) *Buffy Summers *Faith Lehane (briefly, during Hellmouth battle in 2003 and again in the Twilight campaign) *Kennedy (briefly, during Hellmouth battle in 2003) *Rona (briefly, during the Hellmouth battle in 2003) *Satsu (briefly, during the battle against the Japanese vampires) *Melaka Fray Others *Toru *Kumiko Ishihara *Willow Rosenberg *Caleb (briefly'')'' Behind the Scenes *The Scythe appeared in object cameo and owned by Rumpelstiltskin in the episode "Skin Deep " in Once Upon A Time which was also written by Buffy writer Jane Espenson. *In Willow: Wonderland, it is stated by the witch Vulcana in her ritual to repair it that it is the counterpart to Excalibur. Appearances *''Fray'' *"Touched" *"End of Days" *"Chosen" *"Just Rewards" (Footage from "Chosen") *''The Long Way Home, Part Four'' *''A Beautiful Sunset'' *''Wolves at the Gate'' *''Time of Your Life'' *''After These Messages ... We'll Be Right Back!'' *''Twilight, Part Three'' *''Last Gleaming, Part Three'' *''Last Gleaming, Part Four'' *''Slayer, Interrupted'' *''Family Reunion, Part One'' *''Family Reunion, Part Two'' *''Family Reunion, Part Three'' *''Family Reunion, Part Four'' *''Willow: Wonderland'' *''The Watcher'' *''The Core'' *''In Pieces on the Ground, Part One'' Gallery Scythe.jpg|Scythe (BTVS Prop) buffy-scythe.jpg|The Scythe (BTVS Prop) Scythelastguardian.png|The Last Guardian wielding the scythe and explaining its origins to Buffy. The.spell.and.slayers.gif|Willow changes everything Ronascythe.png|Rona briefly wielding the scythe in the Battle at the Hellmouth. Season8-1art.jpg|Buffy Summers with the Scythe Buffy40a.jpg|Buffy, after the battle References Category:Artifacts and objects Category:Weapons